So much for avoiding people from work. Finn smiled tightly and nodded at Pram in greeting. She gasped slightly when Omari told her about how the former TV anchor died. So that's why she was considering leaving the radio show; Omari would likely get more money as a news anchor than a radio host.
"Yes, I agree," replied Finn. "So that's where I heard the rumor about you leaving the morning radio show. I would have liked to have some kind of mention about the new play we're putting on at the playhouse... You know, Ashton Jade has the lead role. It's called The Mystical Flea. But I do hope you aren't leaving the show... Right?"

Pram Smiled at Omari when she was greeted saying, "You as well" and then when Omari asked the question about the news anchor Pram nodded, "Yes it is tragic and gives me the chills as well. I also agree with you about being safe..its a must." She then listened to Finn speak about the show and that jerk Ashton Jade. She was as well wondering what Omari was thinking when it came to the show...She thought of something else she wanted to bring up but she would after hearing what Omari had to say.

"It's true, I have applied for the news anchor position, but we'll see what happens!" Omari said smiling. "Finn dear, you know if you want any advertisements for the play, all you needed to do was submit them through the stations website and we'd do it for you."

Honestly, she would care less about the play, but no sense in making enemies right now.

Peyton had already taken a few drinks to overcome the anxiety he had at first . Now that he had a small level of alcohol in his blood, he was feeling a lot more relaxed.
As he was deciding if he should get another drink, a voice suddenly caught his attention. "Mr Pewter how are you enjoying the party?" He wanted to answer but was interrupted by another voice. Much to Peyton's disliking the mayor decided to join them as well.
"A pleasure to meet you Miss Scarlet. A shame you have to wear this mask. Even though it is one of the most beautiful masks I've ever seen, it is still no match for the beauty of your uncovered face. But seeing you in general makes this party a lot better!", he tried to give a compliment before kissing her hand.
After that he shifted the attention to Riley White. "Oh you were not the person that sent me the invitation?", he said with a fake smile on his face. "Have you seen Miss Cerulean by any chance? I still have to talk to her about a little secret I caught.", he added while winking at the mayor, "You know this town talks a lot of sure and in my business you hear a lot of gossip."
He was confident while provoking the mayor because Madision heard everything he said. Neither Riley nor Reese could do anything to him now without looking suspicious.

What a wonderful world they lived in. If there was a way to make that more ironic even in his head, he would probably try, but as it was, he could only think it with all his might. He looked around; the nice dresses, the cute dresses, that dress. Well, that wasn't something many women could pull off, really. He kept his eyes there a moment, then changed his course.

He caught Ashton speaking with his cousin and Drew, the mayor not too far from there and Omari speaking with two others. Deciding that's where he should begin his first steps (and actually not wanting to butt head with Asheton yet, he walked to Omari and the others, a glass in his hand and a small smile on his lips.

Just enough to be polite.

"I couldn't help but overhear the conversation and I have to say you probably have all your chances, Omari. Or we all hope so, really."

He nodded to the other two.

"Ladies."

Face, tux, mask:

 Golden was already flirting with Miss Cerulean, and other members of the party didn't seem to think fondly of that either. Perhaps he had more in common with these individuals then he originally thought. That was until Mr. Cyan began to openly flaunt his musical successes,and Miss Cerulean began that argumentative dance with golden with a smile on her face and a pat on his shoulder. Miss black began to gossip about the murder of the news anchor with Peach and the interactions continued as such.


Logan couldn't help but scoff to himself at these. Having not been noticed, he stuck by the wall and leaned against it, continuing to watch everyone swarm around like flies on dung. As the gossip of the murder continued, Logan couldn't help but cringe. His sister was the head coroner in town, so the body had been in her jurisdiction. In an attempt to make the time pass quicker, he decided to mingle with them-at least to ensure they had their facts straight.

He joined Miss Black, Peach, and Burgandy. He couldn't help but hide his chuckle when applications of the next anchor came into discussion, and decided that this was the time to convey the correct information.

"You know, my sister is the corner." He started, adjusting his mask as so the tip wouldn't hit anybody as he approached. "Pretty sure she examined that body-if you could even call it that. She's not well in the head, you see. Has a fancy concoction of addictions and drugs and whatnot; It's not good with someone who has bipolar and attention deficit disorder." He sighed and rubbed at his sleeves. "Doubt she ever examined the body, or any body for that matter. Has a habit of faking the reports. I doubt any murder in this town would ever be properly solved."

Logan scowled as he heard Gary Gray's seedless compliments and reassurance to Omari Black and her audition. It seemed so fake, and there was no way he had meant it. Did anyone here actually mean what they say, or is it all just fake formalities all around? This reminded Logan as to why he despised parties.

"While I've still got your attention." He started, fingering through his coat pocket "Do any of you ladies know who sent me this?" His fingers flashed past the leaflet, and the invitation emerged from his coat between his thumb and his index finger.

"I detest parties, and yet this flimsy thing still ended up in my mail. Would any of you happen to know who sent it?"

Now here was someone interesting. Logan Plum, of all people, had been invited to Bloodworth Falls' largest social gathering in years. Now Finn was sure someone-likely the mayor or someone close to him- wanted all the guests here for a very specific reason. She thought about asking Logan about a tour she's heard about him, but decided it unwise. Instead, she said,
"I, for one, have no idea who sent these invites. I didn't pay for mine. Omari, Pram, do you have any idea why were sent these invitations?"

"Hah!" scoffed Drew, "Only a petulant child would make that accusation. Let's not be testy just because it turned out that Papa Golden didn't like you so well after all, Ashton. That was a bit of a stretch in terms of diversion, don't you think? But then, I didn't expect you to come right out and explain how you killed CBC reporter Cathering Curic for her position. Why, you've just blurted out your motivation! The things poverty does to the little mind, it's downright shameful. Though that Omari is a black sheep as well. Perhaps you two conspired to do the thing together?"

Drew's face was red from yelling. Half the party must have heard his accusations by now... including, he hoped, Omari Black.

Pram listened to the others speak and then saw Mr. Grey come over and she nodded to him, "Hello Mr. Grey..how are you tonight?" The the issue of the invites came up, "I'm not sure, I didn't ask for one nor pay for it either..I wonder if the Mayor has the answer.oh by the way did you all hear the rumor going around..seems the Mayor might have ties with the mob..doesn't that scare you a little..it does me.."

Logan nodded his thanks to the ladies and was about to return to his position of being a wallflower when Drew shouted his accusation. His face was red with anger, having somehow dragged Omari's name into it as well. Logan grimaced even more at Pram's mention of the possibility of the mayor being with the mafia.

Ah, people really are nothing but trouble.

"Bold accusation, Mr. Drew." Logan straightened his tie as he called to the enraged would-be star. "If you despise the company of the Moon Shadow Playhouse so much as to start mudslinging murder, why don't you just quit?"

Did he know? Her blood ran cold at the thought, although outside she remained perfectly calm. "I must agree with Mr. Plum, that is a very bold accusation Mr. Golden. It seems to me that you are attempting to shift the blame onto someone else say from yourself?"

Well, things were heating up quickly. So Drew was claiming Ashton had killed the old news anchor. And Omari thought he was shifting the the blame? She wouldn't put it past Drew to do something like kill someone, but why would he kill the news anchor?
"I wouldn't put it past Drew to try to kill someone for a position. I mean, look at my hand!" She held it up so those gathered around could see the bandages. "He dropped a sandbag backstage when I was standing directly under it. And I'm sure it wasn't an accident. Murder is only one step up from something like this. However, I wonder why he would kill Catherine Curic. There's not much motive there."

"Masquerades are just so much more... exciting, my dear," Riley said to Madison. "There's nothing quite like wearing a mask to bring out someone's hidden sides. People talk a little more freely, they relax more. Surely you've noticed something similar in your line of work?" There was something about Peyton's tone that Riley wasn't liking, but he had no reason to stop him from speaking to Reese if he wished. It didn't matter what dirty secret he had found on the job, because Riley still had his trump card.

"Oh, I believe she's right over there with Mr. Golden," Riley answered, his smile just a little tighter. "I may join you over there shortly. You know, just catching up with people before the election season begins."

Very quickly, Deadbee learned more about the situation than he had ever intended, or could have ever hoped for in his wildest dreams. 

At first there was no mental picnic - when none other than Ashton Jade strode forward and put his pointy-face into the conversation and completely ruined Deadbee's segway to spreading information and completely stole the spotlight from him, but then that's what Ashton Jade was good at, wasn't it? Stealing the spotlight. All Deadbee wanted to do was leave for the blatant disrespect, but then things got good. He had known that Ashton had gotten the part over Drew, but he had no idea Drew and Ashton were cousins, nor that their grandfather had recently passed away, nor that Ashton was stalking Reese Cerulean and it had gotten to the point that Reese had taken out a lawsuit against him! This was pure gold! All Deadbee had wanted was to ask Drew if he had been upset over being looked over to find a potential ally in him, and instead learned that a powerful woman like Reese didn't like Ashton, either! 

And it only got better from there!

Ashton was being accused of murdering his own grandfather by his own cousin?! 

Deadbee didn't believe what Ashton insinuated when he mentioned changing the will - it was all a move to take the heat off of himself an throw it back at Drew, and Deadbee wasn't about to let that go so quickly. And then it continued getting better! Drew was now accusing Ashton of murdering the late Catherine Curic?! For her news anchor position? And somehow Omari Black was involved? 

Suddenly the little conversation he had planned had turned into a shouting match that had drawn a lot of attention, as Plum was quickly involved - on Ashton's side, figures - and then Omari - but then who could blame her? She was involved in that Curic assusation - and then Finn chimed in, apparently thinking that Drew had been responsible for Curic's murder despite Drew accusing Ashton of the murder; she was right in it not making much sense as it didn't make any sense, but it made perfect sense for Ashton to kill her for her position. The facts were being forgotten in the conversation and it was getting out of hand -- Deadbee was in way over his head, he just wanted someone to moon turds-talk Ashton with and instead there was Chaos and shouting and all that. He didn't want to be involved in that, despite how much dirt he was getting on Ashton, but there was no way out of this limelight --

But of course, Reese Cerulean to the rescue. 

Surprisingly, after sufficiently shaming the cousins, she turned to him and took his arm and whispered in his ear with a request to be removed from the situation. "Certainly, Ms. Cerulean," he replied, "it would be my pleasure." 

With one last knowing smirk thrown at Ashton, who must have hated all of that negative press, he walked the beautiful, elegant woman towards the fireplace. As they stood on the bear-skin rug before the fire, he dared to compliment her. "You certainly know how to work a room," he said, "And good thing, too; I thought they were going to start hitting each other."

Deadbee Cyan Information, Faceclaim/Outfit/Mask and Entourage:

While he originally tried to step in in an attempt to lessen the madness, it only made things worse. Omari and Finn immediately started on the offensive, and then Reese swooped in.

In one word, it was chaos. Loud, obnoxious chaos.

And it was everything Logan was hoping to avoid.

Logan rubbed his temples, though to get to them he had to reach under his mask. He must have looked like an idiot, his middle and pointer fingers under the edges of the mask, the small movements nudging the mask ever so slightly up and down, as though it were nodding.

And then Reese grabbed Deadbee by the arm and walked away to the fireplace; Logan was sure he saw Deadbee say something to her but at that point they were to far away to tell.

"Good grief..." He mumbled out loud. He highly doubted Drew would take that lying down. He turned back to Omari and and Finn.

"Are you positive you don't know who sent my invite?" The bloke who sent for Logan to attend here would hear a mouthful for subjecting him to this.

She raised an eyebrow at the compliments offered by Peyton; they were certainly quite generous, and though she didn’t mind, she had learned to always take those with a grain of salt. She grew intrigued by what he said next—a secret?—and waited to see how Riley would reply as well. She had learned that sometimes the best way to learn things was just by standing there and pretending she wasn’t interested at all. People tend to say all the things when they think you’re irrelevant.

But then she picked up something through her spying device, secretly concealed in her ear. She’d programmed it so that it would pick up certain words and phrases of interest, and now she had found one of them. Casually raising one hand to her ear as if she were merely tucking a stray strand of hair behind it, she adjusted the listening device to hone in on that specific conversation.

Meanwhile, Riley had addressed her, and Madison gave him a smile. “Certainly, Mr. Mayor. Though it looks like people talk a little… too freely in this party, it seems.”

On the other side of the room, people had raised their voices so much she didn’t even need a spying device to hear what was going on. She was certainly concerned about how accusations like murders were being flung around, especially with the recent actual murder happening in town.

“As I haven’t been around in a while, I’m curious, how’s business lately, Mr. White? What with these murders and sabotages going around, I worry our town is soon going to be deserted by its citizens for fear that it’s not safe anymore. How are you going to handle this?”

Damn, damn, and double damn. Drew should've known his show would be too brash for Reese. He'd lost her audience. Ah well, can't please every crowd.

"Don't be stupid Black," he spat, "or is that your attempt at playing coy? What possible motivation would I have for killing a news anchor? It's you and Ashton who are up for her job. I'd like to hear from both of you just where exactly you were at the time of her murder. It was splashed all about the papers - 11:30 PM last night. Well?"

"And you," he seethed, turning on Logan Plum, "Is there a thought in that head or is does it greatly resemble a long, dark hallway? I love the playhouse. It is my heart and soul. So old Burgundy here has two left feet and a habit of standing under sandbags. I fail to see how that's my problem. For all we know, Ashton may have loosened the sandbag rope! I wouldn't put it past the sneaky devil. I make these accusations because I would rather die myself than see the Moon led by a bloodthirsty murderer. "

The mention of "sister" drew Avery across the room like a bee to nectar. So there was Logan Plum! She barely disentangled herself from Wolfe, exclaiming something like, "Oooh! There he is!" before she raced off. Well, no one would exactly be surprised by that kind of behaviour from her.

The excited wave and smile on her face wilted as she approached and realized that the conversation had gotten heated. Extremely heated. Logan Plum, Finn Burgundy, Omari Black (OMG OMARIIIIIIII IT'S HER IT'S HER IT'S HER!!!!!), Drew Golden, Ashton Jade—so many famous faces, all right here, all getting into one heck of an argument.

Ugh, Ashton Jade. She couldn't help thinking about the way he had been hoovering around the pharmacy while she was getting her prescriptions filled. Avery definitely felt like there were a few elements of her privacy being a teensy-tiny bit overlooked that day.

But now there was little hope of her being able to get a word in edgewise. Avery blinked at the group, hands gripped a little too tightly around her champagne flute, wondering what was going to happen next. Was there going to be a fight? At the party? Ohhhhh, but it was supposed to be such a fun little event!

Pram looked around at the members of her group she was in trying to see if anyone cared for what she said and then saw Mr. Plum's face which told her no one was buying it..at least right now maybe she could tell others. She then heard all the yelling and verbal fighting and focused on that. She watched Omari and Drew fight then Miss Cerulean attempt to stop them. 'Oh man..who knew this would be like this..wait what am i thinking of course something was bound to happen' She then finished her drink and looked around for someone to talk to that she hadn't before... She went over to Miss Lemon and said, "Hello Avery..how are you doing tonight?"

Awwwww, but she wanted to ask Logan some questions! Well, she wasn't really one to refuse conversation. At least this provided an excuse besides listening to everyone scream at each other... but of course she was planning to continue listening to that, too.

"Wow, Pram! That dress is amazing!" she replied in lieu of a greeting. It absolutely had to be Pram Peach under that mask, considering the outfit. So many layers! So many colours! Wow, it was completely over-the-top! "Did you design it yourself?" Avery continued.

She took another sip of her champagne, the flute almost empty.

"Wow, I should be careful!" she commented with a quick chuckle. "I think a few of my medications react poorly to alcohol. Maybe six of them? Or something."

Pram smiled back at Avery and listened to her compliments and questions. Still smiling she said, "Yes I did make this one myself..I thought it would be different then everyone else's and I could stand out and maybe get noticed by someone who knows someone famous..you do know that I'm trying to get my stuff noticed right? do you know anyone?" Pram then listened to Avery speak about her meds and a possible reaction to the drinks.. That made Pram concerned, "Maybe you should stop drinking now Avery..if your meds do have side effects..I don't think it would be wise to keep drinking.." Then it hit her..maybe Pram could get Avery to talk to her about that one rumor..it was worth a shot, "Oh by the way Avery..did you happen to hear the rumor running around...that our mayor has some connections to the mob? That doesn't sound like a good thing..'Obviously' "

Finn listened to a few more accusations fly before Reese left with Deadbee. Deciding she didn't really want to be involved in Drew and Ashton's childish spat anymore, she turned to look for someone else to talk to. Her ears caught Pram saying something again about the rumors of a Matteo's mob ties, and Finn joined her and Avery. 


"I too have heard about the mayor's mobs ties. In fact I was thinking about asking him about it upfront... It wouldn't hurt to have some support. Would you like to help me Pram?"

As Pram waited to see what Avery would do or say, Finn came over and mentioned about what Pram has said earlier about the mayors possible ties to the mob. "Of course I would Finn...I would like to hear as well what he has to say.." She turned to Avery, "Im sorry dear..I need to go look into other things..i should be right back ok.." Looking back at Finn, "ok lets go shall we.."

Hmm, this was very interesting! So she wasn't the only one who had heard about the mayor and potentially suspicious associations of his.

"Good luck, Pram and Finn!" Avery cheered on. "It sounds interesting, doesn't it? He's kind of mysterious. I'd love to know what he has to say!"

This would be a lot easier than asking him herself, of course. It was definitely something she was interested in. Avery couldn't even remember where she heard that rumor, just that she heard it somewhere. Maybe it was true!

"I suppose that some people just can't help letting themselves go a little too much at a good party, even without alcohol..." Mayor Riley said, having noticed the yelling. In reality, he'd rather the heat get taken off him anyway. The more people with dirty secrets that exposed themselves, the better, in his mind. 

"Business?" The Mayor feigned ignorance as best he could. "We've had some unfortunate accidents here and there, but I promise that this city will be as safe as it can be, as long as I can keep my seat in office, of course. I assure you I'm speaking with the police force now to work on a solution," he said to Madison. "This talk of sabotage and murder will fade in a few months time once I'm done cleaning up the place." Oh he was going to clean house alright... 

"And speaking of business, I'm afraid I'll have to finish catching up with you a bit later. I mustn't ignore my other guests! You two understand, right? Enjoy the Ball..." With his own sort of grace attained from his years as Mayor, Riley stepped away from Ms. Scarlet and Mr. Pewter and tried to make his way over to Deadbee Cyan and Reese Cerulean as discreetly as possible.

And just like that, Logan was alone.

Well, almost.

While Pram decided to go off with Avery with Finn following not far behind, discussing more about the Mayor White's possible tie to the mob; Attention had been drawn on him. He was now the target of whatever remained of Drew's wrath, now that Reese had taken her leave of the situation, dragging Deadbee with her.

This was becoming annoying, though he couldn't help but crack a grin at his comparison to Logan's mind to an empty hallway.

He shrugged, and began to walk in the direction of the bar while addressing Drew's temper fit. "I fail to see just how the group of you manage, honestly. But that's none of my business, now is it?"

He could see Peyton in the distance, enjoying the alcohol. He didn't expect to find him here, but he had matters to discuss with him. Logan finished this sad excuse for an interaction by flashing his invitation at him; waving it over his shoulder at Drew in a fake farewell.

"You'll have to tell me how it all works out, then." Logan called out as he got closer to the bar. "And if you happen to know who sent me this stupid thing, please-do not hesitate to inform!"

And with that, he approached Peyton from behind, and lightly tapped his shoulder. Wanting to make this brief, he spat out all the information necessary in a quickened whisper so only the to of them would hear.

"Peyton, sir, isn't it a coincidence that we're both here? You have your next installment of"-His eyes glimmered slightly under the mask-"Well, you know, due at 8am sharp. Of course, if you want to get this weeks payment done and over with, you are allowed to pay me tonight. It's still $600 a week."

Logan couldn't help but keep a sly smile from spreading across his face.

"For now, that is. And I'm sure you certainly wouldn't want that to be plastered all over the news, hm?"

It appeared as if several people were about to disclose the exact information she needed and all she had to do was wait and listen. Keeping her device tuned to the right people, Madison turned back toward the mayor. She raised an eyebrow as he mentioned ‘cleaning up the place’. That did not sound promising, contrary to what one would assume.

He’d excused himself before she could probe further, which just confirmed her suspicion that he was hiding something. While others were happy enough to shout accusations at each other in the open, however, that wasn’t Madison’s style. Hers was subtlety and subterfuge, and it involved a lot of patience. She let him go… for now.

Because something more interesting was happening. Logan Plum was joining them, or rather, he was going straight for Peyton, who happened to still be beside her. Unfortunately, he was whispering. She switched direction with her listening device momentarily and caught the tail end of it. ‘…payment done and over with’… ‘…$600 a week.’

“Logan Plum,” she turned her brightest smile on him. “What kind of juicy secret are we whispering about?” Her tone was light and teasing.

Before she could turn her attention back to Logan, now that Finn and Pram had decided to attempt to unravel some of the Mayor's secrets, he was off.

"Ohhhh, darn it! I just keep missing him!" she pouted to herself, swapping her now-empty champagne flute for another from the next server to pass by with a full tray.

Instead, her wide brown eyes followed the man as he made his way across the room, wondering what his goal could be. Logan Plum was not really the type to mingle, after all. Avery felt slightly surprised when it became apparent that the electrician's destination placed him near Peyton Pewter and Madison Scarlet. The blonde woman followed in the same direction, not interested in trying to disguise her actions. When Logan leaned over to whisper to Peyton she couldn't make it out, but she took Madison's comment as an opportunity to insert herself into the conversation.

"Ooooh, secrets!" she giggled. "What are you hiding, Mr. Plum? Lovely to see you here, everyone! ♥" The bright smiling face nodded in turn to each of the assembled guests. Unlike some of the others present today, Avery really was excited to be here and see everyone. After all, it was a party!

Peyton was surprised that the mayor seemed rather secure. How can that be? Is he bluffing?, he thought to himself. But shortly after, Mr. White excused himself with other business and went off. He hoped that this 'business' would lead him straight to Cerulean.

Now he was alone with Madison again, but not for long, as Logan Plum approached at him and whispered some things he'd rather discuss in private. But much to his dismay not only Madison Scarlet, but also now approaching Avery Lemon seemed to have heard something. He lay his arm around Logan's shoulder and said as an excuse:

"I am a bit ashmed of it, but I broke both my arms in a bicycle accident and I was unable to work. Since I don't make money when I don't work, I told everyone that I was booked so they wouldn't go to someone else. Logan knew about this and teased me with it right now. But since you both seem to have caught something, I think it is better to tell the truth."

Mr. Pewter just hoped that everybody bought his excuse. "You wanna come outside with me for a smoke?", he then asked Plum, "A bit of fresh air would be nice."